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Flexible Packaging Options for Freeze Dried or Dehydrated Food Products
Protective Packaging for Industrial Scale to Home Freeze-Drying
IMPAK Corporation has a long history of supporting the industrial freeze-drying market. Because freeze-dried and dehydrated foods are particularly sensitive to environmental factors, our high-barrier structures are the perfect choice to provide protection from moisture, oxygen, and light. IMPAK works with many customers to provide protective packaging for dried and powdered foods, using a variety of material structures and thicknesses to find the best fit for them.
MylarFoil provides a great balance of being cost-effective and having high barrier properties for packaging dehydrated, air dried, or freeze dried (lyophilized) products. This film is made from BoPET (Biaxially-Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate) covering a thin foil layer for a flexible and light but also strong and UV-light resistant pouch. It has high tensile strength and barrier properties that isolate foods, ingredients, and supplements from the surrounding environment. You can also vacuum seal them without concern of puncture or tearing.
Freeze Drying at Home?
We love Harvest Right freeze drying machines, and if you have one, you probably love them too. Learn more about IMPAK's selection of affordable pouches and sealers for use with your home freeze dryer.
What Factors Affect Dried Food Product Quality in Packaging?
Selecting the right barrier properties for protection is important as these factors affect product quality and longevity during packing, shipping, and storage. When selecting a high-barrier packaging system for dehydrated or freeze dried (lyophilized) products, these factors must be considered:
Keeping out as much oxygen, light, and moisture as possible is the best way to create long-term dried food or supplement storage success. After dehydrating your product, placing oxygen absorbers into the MylarFoil bag and sealing it ensures freshness and longevity.
When sealing foods into larger bulk food bags, the contents can be used while stored then resealed for freshness afterward without having to open and use a full package at once.
How do I Choose a Barrier Bag for Long-Term Storage?
Standard thickness ranges from 3.5mils up to 7mils and the thicker the bag, the more moisture and light it keeps out. Quality bags with high barrier properties have low oxygen transmission rates, low moisture transmission rates, high tensile strength, and are puncture resistant while also providing a premium feel for customers.
Our technical specialists will guide you through the following considerations:
- Material & Thickness
- Proper Sizing
- Special Features
- Your Product's Unique Requirements
A PAKVF4C 5.0 mil pouch allows for protection against light, oxygen, and moisture, and features an inner layer designed to prevent seal contamination by sealing directly through powders, oils, sauces, and other materials that may "spill" into the sealing area. Its sealant layer is designed to withstand the high heat and pressure of more difficult products and applications such as hot fill.
The materials for this bag meet all FDA requirements for edible product safety. For a complete review of MylarFoil Bags, visit Large Mylar® Bags for an overview of barrier bags sized over 15”, but if you need a smaller kit see our 5 Gallon Bundle option.
How Do I Use Desiccants or Oxygen Absorbers?
Oxygen within packaging significantly reduces shelf life of stored ingredients, and of course dehydrated items need to be kept moisture-free until you're ready for rehydration. When high barrier packaging is paired with an oxygen absorber or desiccant, the quality and longevity of the product is greatly increased.
Stay Fresh™ Oxygen absorbers are inexpensive and rated in cubic centimeters (cc), so sizes correspond to capacity. 1ml=1cc of capacity. For a stand-alone 5-gallon bag, we recommend using a 1500cc Oxygen Absorber for loosely packed items, and a 750cc Oxygen Absorber for more dense, powdered products. For a 5-gallon pail liner, we recommend 750cc for loosely packed items and 500cc for more densely packed items.
Desiccant adsorbs moisture, reducing moisture build-up of contents. Options for desiccant that can be revitalized and reused to keep moisture at bay can be found on our Molecular Sieve page, or use our Desiccant Calculator to determine use requirements.
Need more Information? Read All About Oxygen Absorbers and if you still have questions contact one of our technical specialists for assistance and we will be happy to help.
Do you have Larger Industrial and Commercial Sized Bags?
IMPAK’s protective drum liners are manufactured from the same heavy-duty high-barrier foil laminate and have a flat, round bottom that allows for full use of the interior dimensions of the pail or drum. These large MylarFoil drum and pail liners are available in 5 and 55-gallon sizes but can be custom-produced in a variety of sizes and materials. While the film by default is sufficient to preserve most products, to give the best shelf life possible we recommend pairing with oxygen absorbers. A sealed high-barrier bag with an oxygen absorber is what we call a “sorbent system” and is the core of IMPAK’s business.
Notes on options suitable for dry-pack, vacuum packing, retort pouch materials and more.
If you are purchasing one of our round bottom drum liners for a hygroscopic or oxygen sensitive product you may wish to consult a technical representative at the company to determine the residual air volume and how to ensure long-term efficacy of your product, especially pharmaceutical grade powders, food supplements and other products.
IMPAK would typically recommend an alternative solution to oxygen absorbers for bags as with a capacity of 55 gallons, but they are not out of the question for certain applications. The alternative we would suggest would likely be a gas-purge or vacuum seal, depending on the product being packaged.
